The End of All Things Known
by Omnis Morganis
Summary: Chapter Five (The Final Sixty Degrees)Is Up.
1. Orange: One

**Authors' Notes: **Hmmm...it didn't upload properly two days ago, and I couldn't upload yesterday, so FINALLY, this mug is up and updated. Crticize how you will, I'm a big boy, I can handle it. To those who reviewed the intro section, I thank you, and if you notice, I took your comments to heart.

So. Read. Enjoy. Hate, but definitely, let me know.

Oh...a disclaimer. I originally came up with the idea of Naruto, somewhere between 1827-1827 Deuce and a quota. Kishimoto, bastard that he is, stole the idea from me, and managed to capitalize it. Damn him...so now I'm having to resort to writing fan fiction, for no money, while...he...sits like a fat rat...oh well, he did a better job than I would have anyway.

I probably would have had Mizuki kill Iruka, but then again...there's enough angst in the world...without me contributing to it.

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**Fourteen: One**

Warm light cascaded down from the early morning sun onto the village; spring's warmth slowly permeating the Fire Country as the last throes of winter were waning into the distance. After an unusually harsh, cold season, the heat was completely welcome. The pink blossoms of the Cherry trees danced in the wind, signaling to many that spring had truly come, and the streets were busy as Konoha prepared for the new season. Pushcarts started to line the streets, and the Yamanaka Flower Shop was slowly becoming the most beautiful shop in the village once again.  
  
Parents were eagerly waiting, as in a few days the Academy would welcome a new batch of students, and kids were eagerly waiting, as parents would soon be returning to jobs. Times were well for the hidden village of the Leaf, and the future looked to be no different.  
  
A lone figure stood atop the monument that was attributed to the Hokage of the past. Black hair was thrashed around by the warm gusts of wind coming from the south; a black shirt rippled in synchronous effect as black eyes watched the village awake from the torpor that had suspended it for so long.  
  
Two winters had come and gone, along with two summers and autumns. Spring had returned once again, and for the boy, the symbolism of the village was not lost upon him, for he too had once been asleep. The spring of now offering warmth that the wintery past could not. The last two years had been much warmer than the previous twelve.  
  
To anyone that had ever paid any attention to Uchiha Sasuke , he seemed as he ever was, a beautiful yet emotionless genius...but to someone that truly knew him, the changes were astounding. Yes, his foremost goal was to pull the last living breath out of the man that massacred his family, and yes, he still desired to rebuild that same clan, but he did not have to do them as soon as possible.  
  
He realized Itachi would wait for him, and he could always find a woman. His main goal right now was to just get stronger.  
  
Tired of watching his back, Naruto took a step forward.  
  
"It's nice to get away." Naruto spoke, startling Sasuke, who had obviously been consumed within his thoughts.  
  
"Yeah...or so I thought." Sasuke replied without turning around, though Naruto knew he was probably smirking.  
  
Reflecting on how close he and his rival had become, Naruto realized he had more in common with him than he could have imagined. Both grew up with no parents, Sasuke's cruelly murdered, and his, not known at all. Both had ambitious, nigh-impossible dreams. Sasuke wanted to kill the man who was arguably the most powerful ninja from the Leaf, and then there was his dream to be recognized by a village that loathed his very existance. Both wore masks to keep others from knowing the discord that was within, that bastard feigned entropy, while he showed too much emotion.  
  
Seemingly opposite to the world, the two boys were kindred spirits to each other.  
  
Naruto let out a small grunt. "Asshole."  
  
They let their masks slip for no one but themselves, their friendship, undeniable by anyone that knew them, but only they knew how deep it was, after all, reputations had to be maintained.  
  
He had saved Sasuke from a future of the darkest night. If he would have continued down that path, his rival most likely wouldn't be standing here at this moment. Sure, Sasuke's future was still dark, but with the light added it was more a grey area than the pitch it once had been.  
  
He turned and smiled at Sasuke, who only offered a slight smirk and a snort in reply.  
  
"Come on dobe, we've got that meeting with the Hokage this morning."  
  
Nodding, he took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air.  
  
"GO!"  
  
And with that they were off...

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Naruto opened his eyes, and found himself not running down a mountain on the first day of spring with an old friend, but rather, laying on the ground in the middle of the night, very much alone. Frigid rain streaking across his face and the rumbling remnants of thunder echoing in his ear, were obviously the reasons he was pulled from his unconscious bliss.  
  
Another dream. Not surprising really, considering that every time he managed to catch a few moments of rest, Sasuke was there to greet him with the might-haves and could-have-beens, constantly reminding him of his failure so long ago. A failure that irrevocably changed his and the lives of all who were within Team Seven.  
  
The memories of that time still haunting, torturing him no matter how hard he tried to forget.  
  
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He didn't know what time it was, hell, he didn't even know where he was, and though there were so many unanswered questions, the finality of one question was painfully apparent to him.  
  
Sasuke had no intentions of returning home.  
  
He had failed at so many things in life, and in fact, aside from the demon contained within him, the only thing most people knew about the boy, was that he constantly failed at anything and everything.  
  
But this failure was different. Before, the only person affected was himself, this time, however; he had failed many others as well.  
  
Shikamaru, Neji, Chouji, Kiba ... Lee... they had all given everything they could. Oba-chan, who believed in him enough to give him the most precious necklace of the first Hokage. And Sakura...he had broken his promise to Sakura-chan. How could he face her when he returned?  
  
Moments passed and Naruto found himself dwelling upon that last thought. The meeting was inevitable, so he may as well get started. All journeys began with a single step and opening his eyes was about smallest one he could take. He only needed to get started, after all, no one wants to rush and and tell everyone how they failed.  
  
Small amounts of sunlight trickled through the dense canopy of the trees, breaking the thick shadows on the forest floor only slightly, as small leaves teeter-tottered their way to the ground. Realizing he was on his back, he made an attempt to get up.  
  
Pain flowed, like blood, coursing throughout his body.  
  
Trying to gauge the damage done to him, he tested his limbs, but nothing moved. He most certainly was in possession of a few broken bones, among other injuries... the journey home was going to be a bit longer than he first imagined. Trying once again to get some kind of response, he groaned as nothing moved, except for the world as it spun while he slowly passed out of consciousness...  
  
A stone floor greeted him as he fell upon it, the coolness quickly bringing him to his senses. As he pushed himself from the floor he noticed that he was in a hallway, a long one that faded into darkness, a small glint of light in the distance offering the only resistance to the darkness that encompassed everything around it. The hallway seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn't quite remember from where. Complete silence was broken as he took a step forward; the darkness that was once in the distance now completely enveloped him, and the glint of light shined like a beacon leading him like a ship trying to make its way home.  
  
Ages passed as he made crept towards the drop of light that seemed to grow with every step. As he got closer, he noticed the glint slowly manifest into something more foreboding.  
  
Something very recognizable.  
  
A gate.  
  
Two massive red eyes narrowed as he approached.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" The silence, that had only been poked as his sandals clopped, had now been viciously stabbed; the gates, rattled from the power behind the voice of the demon.  
  
Moments passed, as Naruto tried to answer the question. A small, "I'm not quite sure." was the best he could muster. He was still thoroughly confused as to how one moment he was on the soft ground of a forest, and the next he was falling onto the hard stone of a hallway, and now he was before the Kyuubi, which was imprisoned within him. "Am I dead?"  
  
The roar that followed felt like the stiff breeze that prances before a storm, causing the boy to fight, trying to maintain his footing, the rage easily detected behind the bestial sound.  
  
"NO, BUT YOU DAMN WELL SHOULD BE! DO NOT TOY WITH OUR LIVES!"  
  
"Who cares?" He scoffed as he turned to walk away from the gate. "I only wanted your chakra, not your lip."  
  
The growl coming from behind the bars was the first signal that Naruto had given the wrong answer. The hair on the back of the boy's neck prickled as the sound started to crescendo into something more.  
  
Nothing could prepare him for the sound that followed, an audible tidal wave of anger, quite tangible, as Naruto found himself on the ground, several feet from he was standing just moments ago..  
  
"I PLAN ON EXISTING, AND WILL NOT FALL TO A WHELP LIKE HIM!"  
  
Naruto sighed as he picked himself up from the floor. The reference to Sasuke painfully reminded him of his recent failure, his normally jovial countenance was now marred with an expression of emotional dissonance.  
  
The soft laugh that escaped from behind the bars stood in direct contrast to the roar that still echoed throughout the darkness. The voice that followed, soothing, the way a mother would talk to her child. From above, spears of light began to pierce the darkness.  
  
"Some things take time to accomplish."  
  
Turning quickly towards the gate, he saw that red eyes no longer stood out through the darkness behind the bars.  
  
Eventually, what was once the darkest black, had become the brightest white, and Naruto was forced to cover his eyes.  
  
As torrents of pain rushed through his body, Naruto felt himself being hoisted onto someone's shoulder, his abdomen numbing while pain tore through the muscles as a shoulder pounded into it with every step.  
  
And with every step he faded more and more from consciousness.  
  
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The soft, rhythmic crunching of leaves, ripped him from his memories, and the pressure of something at his throat, made him acutely aware, that he was most definitely, not alone.  
  
"Tag. You're it." a honey sweet whisper purred into his ear, as he descended into blackness, yet again.

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**More notes from the author...**

Yeah I hear you..."Does this guy ever shut the hell up?"

The answer...not really.

Anyways...expect lots of Kyuubi-Naruto talk, as he falls back to his memories quite a bit, it serves a purpose.

and on a final note...

If you haven't bought Season 6 of Stargate SG-1, you better go get it, it's good stuff!!!

(I'm not only an anime fan you know...)


	2. Pink: One

**Fourteen (PG-13) **

**Are disclaimers really necessary?**

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

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The air was crisp, and the night, pleasant, much like it always was after a storm. Clouds partially obscured the full moon, causing silver light and black shadow to dance intricately on all things below and around her. Cool, moist ground squished between her toes, and the light wispy garment she wore rippled in the soft breeze. Though the night was unusually chilly, it was not unpleasant.  
  
She found herself walking a trail she had trod upon many times before, usually coming this way to reflect on the day's lesson, or just simply, to relax. Tonight though, memories were being restless.  
  
For almost two years she had been here, and who knew what had happened back home during that time.

---------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Sakura squinted, trying to make out exactly what the blob moving on the horizon was, it seemed to be human, but if that was a man, he was quite misshapen. Slowly, surely it was coming closer, and she noticed that it was most definitely not a man.  
  
It was two.  
  
One was being carried on the shoulder of the other, whoever it was being carried was obviously not in good condition, as arms and legs swung involuntarily with no signs of resistance. Rushing out, she hoped she could be of some help.  
  
The arms and legs were broken without a doubt, and the amount of blood on the orange pants was almost nauseating.  
  
Orange Pants?  
  
Oh my God. Naruto!  
  
Sakura stood agape, after waiting many restless nights for the savior of her beloved; this was not how she had expected to meet him. Riding triumphantly on the shoulders of someone, yes, but not like this. He looked like a broken porcelain doll wrapped in a container of flesh, shattered beyond repair, and truth be known, she could tell the analogy was not far from the truth. He had never looked so rough. Crusty blood matted his clothes, and the skin that wasn't covered, had a bluish black tinge to it. Only his face had a peach hue to it, and even that was faint.  
  
"Quit staring and get some help."  
  
She barely registered the voice. The speaker's face was hidden behind Naruto, or rather what was left of him, _it_ was obviously male.  
  
The whooshing of wind and the sounds of feet hitting the ground were all the warning she recieved before two Anbu appeared between her and the man.  
  
"We'll take the boy."  
  
The man grunted as he hefted Naruto over to the two Anbu, and a split second later two blurs were heading deep into the village. One towards the hospital, and the other, towards what appeared to be the Hokage's tower.  
  
_Naruto_...  
  
She turned to face the mysterious man. "Did you..."  
  
No one was there.  
  
She stood there, alone, in front of the gate the lead into the Hidden Leaf; a small breeze shuffling the decaying leaves on the ground around her.  
  
__

_Where's Sasuke-kun_? She wondered as she stared at the horizon.

The soft trampling of feet pulled Sakura from the mire of her thoughts. Facing the village, she saw Hinata running towards her.  
  
"S-Sakura." The winded girl manage to stutter. "W-was that N-Naruto-kun?" Her Byakugan was still activated.  
  
_Someone has to be strong_.  
  
"Come on Hinata. I'll tell you on the way there."  
  
--------------  
  
Making more noise than they should, the two girls barged into the reception area of the hospital, clearly surprising the lady behind the desk.  
  
Sakura was panting quite heavily, and found herself leaning against the desk for support. "U...zuma...ki...Naruto..." She managed to stagger between breaths.  
  
Keystrokes could be heard behind the desk slash support wall. "There is no Uzumaki on file."  
  
Sakura's hand involuntarily shot to her head and ran down her face. She was somewhere between agitated and pissed. "Like hell, there's not. Check again. U-Z-U-M-A-K-I.. He was just brought here."  
  
The receptionist took a deep breath. "Ma'am, if he was just brought here, he's probably in the ER, thus, he will not have been entered into the system yet."  
  
Another surge of anger flared through Sakura. "BUT..."  
  
"Be quiet Sakura, we're in a hospital." The reprimand was gentle, yet quite firm. She turned to see her teacher, with an apparent look of worry written across what little she could see of his face. "Come with me."  
  
_Finally_.  
  
"Are we going to see Naruto?"  
  
A small nod was all she received before he started down the hallway. The next thing she knew they stood before a set of double doors. Kakashi lightly tapped the door three times, and a few moments later the doors opened to reveal a chaotic scene.  
  
As she entered the room, She saw the Hokage furiously running her hands over Naruto's body, which looked far worse than Sakura remembered, now that more was exposed, the extent of his damage was easier to see. His chest seemed to be sunken in places, and with the darkness of the skin, she knew there was heavy internal bleeding as well.  
  
A moment of pressure breaks her gaze from her teammate, but in an instant it was gone. _What was that? __Another one?! What the hell is going on?!_  
  
"S-Sakura?"  
  
She leaned close to Hinata and spoke softly. "You feel it too?"  
  
"I-I think it's Hokage-sama?" Hinata whispered back. She turned her attention to the Hokage, who had her hands on his chest, and sure enough when she would press on Naruto's chest, something would press against Sakura..  
  
_Is that Chakra!?!?_  
  
The chakra from the Hokage could literally be felt. Sakura had never experienced anything like this, hell, she had never even heard of anything like this...  
  
A hand slipped into hers, and was startled, but nonetheless grateful. The small trembles coming from the hand makes her wonder how hard this must be on Hinata. Having to see the boy you like, fighting for his life, or rather others fighting for it, because he is unable to, in front of you. It must be hard.  
  
"Goddamn that Sasuke." She heard Tsunade mutter.  
  
_Sasuke did this? How would you know?  
_  
The glare from the woman made Sakura realize that she had spoken her thoughts aloud.  
  
"He did it, let's leave it at that."  
  
She had forgotten Kakashi was even there, his whisper warning her not to broach the subject any farther.  
  
But it wasn't the warning from her teacher that made her want to stop asking questions, it was the black lines that appeared on the Hokage's face, lines that were similar to those that appeared on Sasuke.  
  
"Kakashi. Get me some pills from the Akimichi clan."  
  
"Hai, Hokage-sama."  
  
One moment he was there next to her, a moment later he wasn't.  
  
-------

The minutes passed by, and the girls could do nothing but watch as Tsunade continued her treatment on Naruto. With every passing second Sakura, could feel the hold on her emotions slowly slip away. She knew Hinata must be having a hard time as well.  
  
"Hinata..."  
  
"I want to stay Sakura."  
  
No stuttering. No pauses...no weakness. She couldn't help but be impressed by the strength the girl was showing.  
  
"Alright, Hinata."

--------  
  
Tsunade finally stopped and leaned against the table where she had been intensely working. "He's stabilized."   
  
Sakura wasn't sure how long it had been since she had entered the room, though she was sure it had been hours ago. Her body hurt, from muscles being taut the entire time, the last few hours being the some of the most tense she had ever experienced.  
  
"O...ba...chan." It was more of an exhale, than a whisper. Sakura looked at her teammate incredulously.  
  
The Hokage's head popped up and was greeted by partially open blue eyes, and the faintest hint of a smirk.  
  
"...you look like...crap..."  
  
"You ungrateful bastard!" Tsunade exclaimed as she threw her arms around him.  
  
"Ow."  
  
The laughter in the room was a welcome sound indeed.  
  
-------

"Morning, Naruto." It had been a couple of days, and this was the first chance she had to be alone with him. She didn't miss the pained look that graced his features when she entered.

"Sakura-chan." He mumbled.  
  
"How you feeling?" Knowing what she really wanted to ask was _How's Sasuke?  
_  
He looked away from her. "I-I'm s-sorry...Sakura-chan. I tried. He doesn't want to come home."  
  
_Was I that obvious?_  
  
She could only nod, as tears started to form, and eventually drop from her eyes. She had braced herself for this moment, trying desperately to believe that Naruto wouldn't return with Sasuke, but damn Naruto and the glimmer of hope he brought whenever he did anything, after all, didn't everything he done work out in the end?  
  
But now...the absolute finality of Sasuke's return home was apparent, she no longer had the little glimmer of hope to light her path.  
  
_He's never coming back.  
_  
She felt the emotional wall she built for herself begin to crumble and threw a hand to her mouth. Naruto couldn't see her like this, not when he needed joy and happiness. She was on the verge on collapsing, vomiting, and who knows what else. So, she did the only thing she thought she could do.  
  
She ran.  
  
Naruto would be crushed at her lack of concern for him, she did care for him, that was for certain, but at this moment she knew that it was not that she didn't care; it was that she couldn't care.  
  
Not when she had just lost the driving force in her life.  
  
She could always apologize to Naruto tomorrow, but today she would cry for the one not here.  
  
----------------------------------------------------  
  
She mourned a little harder and longer than she had intended to. The days passed and she grew more tired than she ever believed she could ever feel, but at least she felt something. The weakness was better than the sorrow she'd felt before. Oh, she still felt it, though any relief from that pain was welcome.  
  
A knocking from the front door broke her state of semi-consciousness.  
  
"Hokage-sama!" She heard her mother exclaim.  
  
_The Hokage, here?  
_  
Obviously she was here to see Sakura. She was getting a little tense, this would be the first real conversation the girl had with the woman. The deep feelings the Hokage had for Naruto were obvious, as they had been seen together quite a bit, and he did speak about 'Oba-chan' quite fondly. Rumors said that he had even been learning a few things from her, despite the fact that she had only been Hokage for a few weeks now. Sakura didn't know exactly what the woman wanted to talk to her about, but because of the woman's fondness for her teammate, she had a pretty good idea that it was going to be about her visit with Naruto, and the not visiting after that.  
  
It wasn't that she was mad at him. She couldn't be mad at him, she had, after all, failed the same task long before he did. It was just whenever she thought about going to see him, thoughts of Sasuke would bring her emotions to the surface more violently than when she tried to think of nothing at all.  
  
Mumbles could be heard from downstairs but she couldn't really make anything out. A few minutes footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and a few seconds later a light knocking at her door.  
  
_Might as well get this over with._ "Come in."  
  
The door creaked open and the Hokage entered her room. Sakura looked at the proud, confident woman walking towards her with a lithe grace she had never quite seen before, The woman was truly astounding. Eerily beautiful, despite rumors saying that she was well over fifty years old.  
  
"Ohiyo, Haruno-chan."  
  
Wincing slightly at the formality, Sakura tried to relieve some of the tension. "It's just Sakura, Hokage-sama." After all, it wasn't everyday that someone was reprimanded by the Hokage; she needed to make this as gentle as possible.  
  
The small smile on the woman's face came as a surprise to her.  
  
"Well then, it's just Tsunade. This conversation is between two women, not between Shinobi and Hokage."  
  
This wasn't going nearly as bad as she thought it would.  
  
"I bet you're wondering why I'm here."  
  
Sakura gave a small nod. "It's about Naruto, isn't it?"  
  
"Well...that's one reason, but it's really just a minimal part of why I'm here. You really shouldn't have left him alone then. Sure, there were other people there, but you're his teammate and you weren't there for him, except to hear about Sasuke. You hurt him pretty badly, and though he didn't say it, I'm pretty sure he felt betrayed, and just in case you didn't knowl he had just been tossed off of a cliff by his other teammate."  
  
Sakura had never felt worse in her life.. "I know, but I could have done nothing for him, he was trying to recover, and I'm sure my crying wouldn't have made him feel any better."  
  
"That may be how you would feel, but remember we're talking about someone who was twelve before he had a friend. He would have appreciated your company, no matter what condition you were in. You of all people should know how he was treated, as you treated him that way yourself, but that's enough about that." Sakura made a mental note to go see him as soon as Tsunade left...and after she made herself presentable.  
  
"With Sasuke, I know what you're feeling right now."  
  
Somehow, she just couldn't believe her.  
  
"I too have wasted myself away on a bed wallowing in sorrow. But you have one thing going for you that I did not."  
  
She was looking for any light that might shine upon the darkness that had become her.  
  
"What was that." she softly asked.  
  
"At least your man is alive."  
  
_True._  
  
"I tried desperately to save the one I loved, only to have him die in my arms, talking about his dreams. Do you have any idea how hard that was? I'm sure you've got an idea though."  
  
Sakura nodded. The woman was right, _Sasuke is still alive._  
  
"Luckily for me, someone guided me in the right direction, and now I'm going to guide you. I've talked with your parents about it, and they've agreed, but you have to go of your own accord or else this will never work."  
  
_What the hell is she babbling about?_  
  
"I'm going to give you the chance to become stronger Sakura, so that when you finally meet Sasuke, which I am sure you will, you can show him the woman you've become. Twelve is far to young to be thinking of love, he's not going to go to another woman in two or even four years, so you've got plenty of time to prepare. Well?"  
  
_The chance to become stonger, and impress him?_ Realization hit her. _She's giving me a chance to try and save him.  
_  
She pondered for a few moments. "I would have to leave the village, wouldn't I?"  
  
"Yes, you would, but it would only be for as long as you feel like it."  
  
"How far away?" she asked.  
  
"Water Country."  
  
"I'm going to the Village of the Hidden Mist?" Thoughts of living in another village intimidated her.  
  
"You're not going to the Mist, just to a place inside the country of Water."  
  
"When would I leave?"  
  
"As soon as you say goodbye to those close to you."  
  
A few moments passed. "Where's he at?"  
  
Downstairs, waiting for you to get out of this bed. He mentioned something about ramen."  
  
"He's so dumb." she laughed as she wiped the tears that threatened to overflow from her eyes.  
  
"Isn't that the truth."  
  
---------------

And here she was now, walking a path in the middle of the night thinking about times long since gone. A smile gracing the features that were so forlorn in memory.  
  
"I've not only gotten stronger for you Sasuke-kun, but also for you, Naruto.

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**Author's Notes: ** I apologize for the delay. I went on a trip, and then the day I got back, I had to work, and I've worked everyday since then. Subsequent chapters (hopefully!) will not take as long to post.

Damn, this chapter was hard to write. All emotion and no action makes me a dull boy...

Anyways...Thanks go to my one reviewer, Innocent Sakura, whose comments were nice. I was going to post Sasuke's chapter first, but since you asked about Sakura, I gave her to you. I don't do requests, but this one didn't affect the story flow, so I thought I'd do it just this once.

Anyways, Enjoy!


	3. Black: One

******The End of All Things Known (Formerly Titled: Fourteen, though it will still be found under the fourteen link, the new title will be our little secret, Alright! eyes flame and holds fists near mouth)**

Rating PG-13 for language, though will probably become R due to language and violence.

A/N: It's funny how things change. I can no longer call the story fourteen, thought they are fourteen, in the grand scheme of the series, age, and what goes on during those years wasn't the main factor. I changed a few things to the story as a whole, I may need to go back and change some things in the first two chapters...anyway. I'll talk more at the end, onward to the next chapter!

ARG! And why in the hell does always have problems when I have to post _MY_ story!??

**====================================================================================================**

**Black Ch.1**

_How miserable._

His hair was matted against his face, and every drop of water that hit him felt like a needle, piercing his skin, and penetrating to the bone. Luckily, it was only raining lightly, though it was still enough to piss him off. The stiff breezes didn't make matters any better. Here he was out in the middle of who knows where...

Actually...he knew exactly where he was.

The Sound/Fire Country border, better known as the "Red Zone." The Leaf had always been wary of the Sound since the war, and it patrolled this area heavily. Sasuke had never truly understood the purpose of this mission, Konoha wouldn't make a move against Oto, and Orochimaru knew that, yet he still insisted, or rather demanded, inspection of the border area.

_And why on a night as shitty as this one?_

He felt a chakra source coming towards him, the bitterness of the night left him quite soaked, though his senses had yet to be dampened.

"Sasuke-sama, we have a problem."

He groaned and ran a hand through his hair, moving the bangs out of his face, and behind his ears.

_Just when I thought things couldn__'__t get any worse. _Kabuto knew how to handle _any_ situation, and if he needed his help, then things must not be going well at all.

"A few kilometers ahead, exactly in our way, someone has set up camp."

"That's all?" Sasuke spoke, quite irate that he would bring something so trivial to his attention.

He watched as Kabuto pressed his glasses to his face, as he did whenever he had anything of importance to say, almost demanding those listening to look him in the eye when spoke.

"I believe it's Naruto-kun."

The biting rain that had once annoyed Sasuke, was barely noticed, in fact he didn't feel much of anything.

"...Naruto?"

_Almost two years now._

He was such a pathetic student at the Academy, but the _Genin_ Naruto was far from pathetic. From the time he graduated his strength grew like no one else's.

The Kage Bunshin's a day after he couldn't even perform a normal clone.

The Chuunin Exams.

Gaara...

He remembered the emotions that surfaced when he saw his teammate fighting the demon.

He remembered the kinship, as Naruto was fighting for him too.

He remembered the awe, as the boy showed powers he had never seen before.

He remembered the anger, at how he was able to do nothing.

He remembered the jealousy, because he had been surpassed.

He remembered the fear.

Fear at how easily Naruto could have killed him.

Itachi, Orochimaru, and now a dead last idiot were the only ones to make this feeling burn within him.

Whatever the hell that was he used on the water tank, only helped to push Sasuke farther away. He wasn't used to seeing Genin perform jutsu he couldn't copy, especially one like Naruto, who had started so far below him. He would have never surpassed him if he would have stayed in the Leaf...but then again he may not have surpassed him, even now.

The boy had just as much time as he had to train.

_How much more powerful has he gotten in these two years. _He couldn't help but wonder.

Sasuke knew it was inevitable that he would kill Itachi, and it was without doubt that he would have to kill Orochimaru too, there was no way in hell he was just going to let the Snake have _his_ body.

He and Naruto would have their day as well. It, also, was inevitable.

"...Sasuke-sama?"

"How sure are you?"

"Well, his chakra _is_ quite unique."

Sasuke gave a small hmmph. '_Isn__'__t that the truth, how many other people have a demon fox bound to their soul?_'

Sasuke had felt that _unique_ chakra before. A monstrous power, that was the equivalent of a dam bursting, power that threatened to destroy anything in it's way

"Well, what do you want to do?" Kabuto calmly asked, pressing his glasses against his face. "It would be easy to kill him, as he seems a bit weary at the moment."

"No!" Sasuke interjected with finality.

Kabuto looked at him questioningly. "So...you want us to just leave him alone?"

"He's in the way, and we can't just leave him alone." Sasuke sighed

_Even after all these years, he__'__s still gets in my way. _

"You can do a sleep jutsu, right?"

Kabuto nodded.

"Knock him out for a few hours. We finish our patrol, and he'll be none the wiser."

"We really should head back to camp. The men know someone is ahead, and seem anxious for conflict."

As Sasuke looked towards the small flame in the distance, he noticed once again, the painful stings of rain, as they fell from the sky.

------------------------------------------

As he approached the camp, he noticed the men were well armed, many with kunai in hand.

"We're ready when you are, Sasuke-sama." One shouted from the throng gathered around the fire.

"Kabuto and I will go alone. Be prepared to leave, when we return." He coldly replied, earning groans of disapproval from the men under his control.

"Sasuke-sama ... Mashiro's already gone to scout the target." Another spoke out.

"What the hell!" Sasuke exclaimed, the anger easily seen in his eyes. "Orders weren't given!"

He took off, a blur against the grey and black of the nighttime trees.

He hoped he wasn't too late. Moving as fast as he could, in what little light the storm offered, he navigated through the darkness, The greys and blacks meshed to form incoherent walls of blur, that were quite tangible, as the scrapes that now lined his arms and legs attested to.

Not only did one of his men leave without orders, it had to be the best one of them at that.

After what felt like hours, he arrived at the scene to find his man standing over the supine body of his old teammate. He wasn't wearing the orange jumpsuit Sasuke was expecting to see, but the blonde hair was unmistakable.

"Is he dead!?" Sasuke angrily asked, emotion betraying his usually stoic nature.

"Not yet, but he will be." Mashiro turned and faced Sasuke. "This is the Kyuubi right?" He asked as he faced the unconscious boy once again, and prodded him with his foot. "I don't know why Orochimaru-sama has _him_ on 'The List.'

_The list. A list of people Orochimaru has decreed to death . It__'__s short for __"__The list of people that scare the shit out of Orochimaru, so they must die.__" _

Though it was no longer written on there, Sasuke knew his brother was still at the top of that list. He abhorred Itachi, but he liked the fact that he made the Snake squirm. He was truly surprised to see Naruto's name and picture on that list, though he was under the name 'Kyuubi'. Just another area where they conflicted. Orochimaru offered Sasuke a place to live with him in his tower, while he offered Naruto a death sentence.

"Go Mashiro, we'll handle this." Sasuke ordered, as Kabuto approached.

"I haven't finished my duty, Sasuke-sama. The master wants him dead." Mashiro calmly stated.

"And... I.... said... to...go." Sasuke responded with more than a little annoyance.

"I can't disobey an order from Orochimaru-sama."

"If you kill him, you'll be disobeying me, and I **will **kill you...Orochimaru isn't here, and what he doesn't know... he doesn't know."

"I see." Mashiro looked at the unconscious boy, and then at Sasuke. His eyes grew wide as he noticed the red eyes and the black lines that almost dared him to make a move. He raised an arm and pointed to his squad leader. "Your ass, not mine, Sasuke-sama." A few moments later he faded into the darkness as he retreated towards the camp..

Kabuto lowered his head and sighed. "You know we're going to catch holy hell for this, don't you?"

A smirk flashed across Sasuke's face for an instant. "What else is new?"

He watched as Kabuto bent down and put his ear on Naruto's chest and a hand on his throat.. "Mashiro did a thorough job. He'll probably be out for days."

Sasuke found himself staring at the boy, noticing the green vest for the first time.

_So he__'__s a least a Chuunin._

He felt a longing in his body. A longing for a time when he was happier.

"Do you miss him?" Kabuto asked as he stood up.

A few moments of silence passed.

"He's just a person to measure my capacity..." Sasuke tensed at the words.

_It was to measure my capacity. _

His brother's words.

His mouth.

He felt slightly sick at this thought..

"...and the fact that his existence puts a little fear into Orochimaru, is reason enough for me to let him live."

Kabuto smiled. "You don't have to justify your feelings."

"Shut up." Sasuke replied, the coldness of the answer, in perfect synchronicity with that of the rain.

And that ended the conversation, the next hours seemed to pass in a blur, as Sasuke thought about the significance of the boy. Naruto was at least Chuunin, his body looked a lot stronger than when Sasuke had last seen him. He was taller, leaner. So was Sasuke, but one rarely notices the changes to himself.

Sasuke probably would have been a Jounin by now, at least one level higher than Naruto.

He realized he missed his friend, and the village, which was the closest thing that ever felt like home. He even missed Sakura, despite how annoying she could be. Naruto was probably courting her, now that Sasuke was out of the picture.

He wondered how much he had truly missed. Perhaps Kakashi had been right about the path of revenge. But it was too late now, choices had been made, and he had to accept the consequences.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As he stood before the gates of the Hidden Sound, it almost seemed like he was standing before the gate of the Hidden Leaf. The buildings that could be seen between the two massive structures were of the same architecture of Konoha, and the gate looked exactly the same.

Apparently Sasuke wasn't the only one who longed for a place long gone.

He was abruptly stopped from his thoughts as a blur flashed before him and became a man. Sasuke could tell by the white animal mask he wore that he was one of Orochimaru's elite guards.

"Sasuke-sama, Orochimaru-sama demands an audience with you and Kabuto immediately."

Sasuke groaned and heard a small chuckle from Kabuto. "Not even through the gates and we're already summoned, eh Sasuke-sama?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "Tell him we'll be right there."

Upon receiving the only answer he would accept, the Anbu disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.

"He's really pissed." Kabuto spoke quietly .

"Go on. I've got something I've got to do first."

Kabuto looked at him incredulously. "You're going to make him wait?"

Sasuke shrugged as he walked off. "What's he going to do, kill me?"

--------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke began to walk the streets of the village. Orochimaru wasn't going to take his transgression lightly, so he needed a little serenity, before the chaos that would ensue.

Vendors lined the streets selling a variety of goods, he noticed a cart of flowers, their redolence permeating the air with a sweet smell, overwhelmed with customers. The other carts were bustling with action as well, their vendors with smiles as they peddled their goods, not detered in the least by the coolness of the morning air. The trees that lined the street swayed to and fro in the breeze, doing a simple dance, as their leaves floated gently to the ground. He always thought the trees that lined the cobblestone street were a nice touch. They could even be found between the mass of buildings that ran along side the road, almost as if the man made objects were built around nature herself, though the leader of the Sound was ugly, his village was not.

Again, he was reminded of his former home, and felt an urge to at least visit and see what had changed in his absence, but that would be for a later time.

Today, he had a meeting to attend.

_--------------------------------------_

Sasuke leisurely strolled into Orochimaru's _throne room_. For a man with a god complex, he lived simply enough. The torches that lined the wall threw shadows across the floor, the only other distinguishable features were a couple of tables, a massive wooden chair, Kabuto, and the Snake himself.

A glint of anger could be seen on Orochimaru's pallid face.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. I am most appreciative of your...punctuality." He spoke with the slightest hint of venom.

_Already losing his cool? _

Sasuke enjoyed seeing him angry, and though he conveyed no emotion, he was quite pleased.

Orochimaru, however; was not.

He inhaled slowly and deeply. "You encountered the Kyuubi, not only did you encounter him, he was delivered into your hands." Orochimaru showed his open palm as he said the last part.

Sasuke put his hand to his chin, and took a moment before he answered. "I don't remember finding the Kyuubi in my hands." he said feigning ignorance.

Orochimaru growled. "You don't remember... finding... a boy incapacitated...on the ground?!" His teeth clenched as he spoke. Sasuke watched as the muscles in the man's neck flexed with emotion, exposing the tendons and blood vessels as formed his words.

"Oh, You mean Naruto. Yeah we saw him."

Orochimaru shot up from his chair. "I don't give a good goddamn what his name is. Why is he still alive?!" he shouted.

Sasuke said nothing. It wasn't like he could say the boy was a testament to happier times for him, and the fact that he was alive gave Sasuke a little hope for a normal life one day.

Orochimaru sunk back into his chair and rubbed his face with both hands. "Sasuke-kun...why do you defy me so? I only want for you to complete your ambitions. You know as well as I do, that boy will cause nothing but problems for us both later on."

'_Yeah right. You just want me to kill Itachi and Naruto, that way when you take over my body, you__'__ll have little to worry about.__"_

"You should eliminate your problems when they are young, or you may end up dead, like that idiot, Sarutobi."

"Yeah, well that idiot defeated two Hokage, and destroyed your arms with a single jutsu." Sasuke retorted before he thought.

Rage contorted Orochimaru's face. "LEAVE!"

Sasuke bowed, and then turned to leave for his quarters, on the other side of the building. His response contained a taboo subject, and he would have to face the repercussions of it later.

----------------------------

He slowly rose from his bed and walked towards the light knocking at his door.

"Kabuto..."

"Be quiet. I have to make this fast before the Anbu get here. Orochimaru is going to do _IT_ tonight. We don't have the time to get help. I'll try to come up with a plan, you better think too. I'll be back this evening."

He reached for the door handle and slammed the door shut.

The sounds of feet could be heard on the roof.

He looked out of his window and saw nothing. Sasuke returned to the door and opened it, and where Kabuto was moments ago, there now stood two squads of Anbu, two men on each side.

_Shit! There__'__s no way out!_

---------------------------------------

Evening came slow for Sasuke, as he tried desperately to think of someway to escape, but with four Anbu at his door, and no telling how many were watching his window, there was little he could do.

As the light of the sun brightened and then started to fade away, so had his hope for escaping. He would have to rely on Kabuto's help. Kabuto hated Orochimaru as much as he did, and Sasuke had grown to trust the man, though he wouldn't call him a friend.

A light series of knocks at the door made him jump.

_So it__'__s time. _He quickly ran up to the door and opened it.

"Kabuto." He spoke with hope that the genius man had _something_ for him.

"Come with me Sasuke-sama. Orochimaru demands your presence."

Sasuke didn't need to see it to know the color had drained from his face.

"Kabuto..."

A folded sheet of paper was placed into Sasuke's hands, as Kabuto tied a rope around them and began to lead him to the door and out into the hallway.

"Why?"

Kabuto remained silent.

The Anbu were following, though at a distance Sasuke knew they could hear conversation...

_...Though not close enough to read something!_

Sasuke opened the note which only had two words on it.

_Kage Bunshin?_

Sure, he knew the technique, after all he did have the Sharingan and an old teammate of his did have a flair for using the jutsu. It was really a useless technique for something like this though, he couldn't beat Orochimaru with a Kage Bunshin.

Sasuke felt the chakra of the Anbu start to drift away.

_KAGE BUNSHIN! _The idea hit Sasuke fully. _I can do a Kage Bunshin before we get to the throne room. Orochimaru will place his soul in the clone, then I__'__ll cancel the jutsu. We may be able to kill Orochimaru like that. That__'__s brilliant Kabuto._

Once he no longer felt the presence of the Anbu, he quietly performed Kage Bunshin. Kabuto turned and smiled at Sasuke, he removed the ropes from him and replaced them on the clone.

Sasuke watched as they made their way down the hallway, towards the room that would soon contain one, very soulless, Orochimaru.

Now there was another problem. Just how in the hell was he going to get into the throne room. He couldn't be seen like this.

_Henge._

A poof of smoke later, what once was a young dark haired man, was now a masked Anbu.

He slowly made his way down the same path Kabuto had taken.

_I can__'__t just barge in there..._

"Are you the other one?" The voice surprised Sasuke. He cursed himself for being caught unaware, and turned to face an Anbu.

"What?"

"I'm sorry I'm late for the ceremony ." The Anbu spoke, obviously mistaking Sasuke's question, as a reprimand.

_Talk about lucky._

"Just go, you've been replaced." Sasuke scoffed, his voice full of scorn.

The Anbu nodded, and quickly left.

_I guess I can after all!_

He made his way to the double doors of Orochimaru's throne room, pushed them open, and stepped inside.

=====================================================================================

More A/N: Another long delay, and I apologize for that. Work again for 11 days straight, troubles with the woman, registering for fall semester, and getting a new car have all delayed me from my work, which i can tell you without arrogance, is going to get very good.

I'm really excited to be writing this story, and when an author loves his work, you know you'll have a good story, it was a slow beginning but for those of you that have continued to read, I promise you things are going to get good.

So, read and review. Like I say, if you like, say you like, if you hate, go on and be a hater, but you better have support.

Now on to other things. To my reviewers...

******Henrika:** Heh, I'm pretty sure there are some grammar problems! I'm just a lowly Cellular Bio. major, and as much as much as I love literature, the intricate nature of grammar has always chaffed my behind. In 101 and 102, my teacher told me the content in my papers was awesome, but my grammar skills lacked. He loved my essays so he would give me bonus content points to make up for the loss of my grammar points. I probably would have never made it though Eng. without him!

******K. Sue: **I'm such a fan of the whole time switching thing, I know it makes things confusing, but I like to reveal little parts of the story at one time, and slowly ease into things instead of revealing everything at once. The primary story is about the members of team seven, but I assure you, that you will find out about the rest of the characters, however you will see them through their interactions of Team 7, it would really detract from the story if I wrote a chapter about them. Although I am thinking about including a bonus chapter after every three chapters to tell a little about them, but I worry about that taking from the original story. Plus, this is just the first book, of a planned three, and these chapters are the beginning of the beginning.

******Elijah Snow:** Wow thanks! I don't know if I'd go so far as to say what you did, but I really really appreciate it! I'm really looking forward to writing the rest of the story, as I have it ******ALL **outlined, and these chapters are nothing compared to what's coming up. I'm glad you enjoy it, and I'm looking forward to you enjoying more!

******Jenniyah: **She does seem cold, and she realizes she seems cold, though she wasn't written to be cold. She was more hurt than anything. Sure, she cares for Naruto, but those feelings are nothing compared to those she has for Sasuke, after all she did declare her love for him in the middle of a street

But it's how life works, we all don't like the people that like us. It's like the Hinata/ Naruto thing. Naruto can be seen as being cold towards Naruto, though we know he's not. He's just naive and Sakura's just hurt, or at least that's how I see it. And as we saw, she got over it, and they went out for Ramen, and happiness ensued. In a triangle sort of way...

Alright. I'm done...No I'm not...I forgot.

Did you know that are ******Wrestling** fanfics on here!!!?? You should have heard what came out of my mouth when I saw that...It had what the...and the f word with it...To each his own...

Fanfic Shoutout. (Intresting Fanfic read of the Chapter) One or two (or however many of these catch my attention) will be included with every chapter!

******Dragonblooded**: This is shaping up to be a good story. It's the only story I've ever seen that shows the inner workings of the Sound, without basis on primary Naruto characters. The characters are unique and fun to read.

******Do You Hate Me? **: A Naruto/Temari story, that reeks of fun stuff. Things progress a little too fast for me, but the story is funny as hell, and Temari is hilarious, and is exactly the kind of woman I want. One that loves, but will kick your ass, and hit you over the head with a spatual if you piss her off!

******Naruto X:** OMG. Hiko in the Naruto World...with a twist. I loved this fic till a certain thing happened...sigh sigh Hiko from Rurouni Kenshin is so great in this story!!! 3 cheers for Hiko and his manliness!!! And I can think of very few situations more hilarious than Hiko having to meet Aunt Flo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now I'm done.


	4. Team Eight To the Rescue!

**The End of All Things Known (Formerly Fourteen)**

**Rating: PG-13 Due to language.**

**==========================================================================================**

** Team Eight To the Rescue!**

**AKA: Tight Little Buns...**

"Wan-Wan!"

She could hear the calls from him clearly now.

"Good job, Akamaru!" Kiba yelled. He turned towards her as she came to a stop on the ground below him. "Just a little farther, Hinata."

Her nerves were on edge. They had only been searching for a couple of hours, but she had been tense the entire time; her mind vividly running through all the possible scenarios.

Maybe his legs were broken? _He still would have crawled home._

Perhaps passed out from hunger? _Yeah for three days? _

Could he be dead?_ Impossible!_

Her mind and her hopes clashed, creating a maelstrom of emotions within, however; a few stray tears betrayed the entropy she feigned on the outside.

Her teammate stopped and pointed. "Akamaru's that way, can you see _him_?"

Several leaps later she was beside Kiba, her hands positioned into a familiar seal.

"Byakugan." Her voice came out weak, as these were the some of the first words she had spoken since being assigned to this mission.

It was definitely Naruto, there was no mistaking that hair, and he most definitely wasn't moving.

"...Hinata? Is it him?" Kiba asked obviously irritated at her delay, or it might have been from worry as well.

Since Sasuke and Sakura had left, Naruto had no team of his own, and had been doing missions with the other teams. Shino was often sent on missions with his father, which meant Naruto had spent most of his time on Team Eight, with Kiba and Hinata. She loved having him on her team; working with him helped her to improve greatly, and she knew, that although he and Kiba argued all the time, they got along really well.

"H-Hai." She stammered, as she moved faster than she had ever moved before, towards her fallen teammate.

A few minutes later they stood beside the boy. Obviously placed here, as his arms were at his side: a position quite unnatural to sleep in.

"Oh my..." She gasped. It was a hard sight to take for the young girl, but she had to be stong. She quickly dove onto the boy, laid her head on his chest, and placed one finger below his nose. "He's breathing, and has a heartbeat!" she excitedly yelled, but the enthusiasm was cut short by small growly noises coming from Akamaru.

"You smell it too?" Kiba sniffed the air, then frantically searched the trees with his eyes.

She stood up. "What is it, Kiba-kun?"

"Familiar smells." He sniffed a few more times. "Definitely Sasuke, and that Kabuto guy." Kiba sniffed once again and looked towards Naruto. "Sasuke got pissed, there's some bloodlust lingering in the air. Kabuto's scent is faintly on Naruto, while an unknown one is all over him."

He walked around, sniffing, as Akamaru approached their fallen teammate.

"One of two things happened here." He spoke as his eyes slowly danced through the tree tops. "One..." He held one finger up to emphasize the number. "Sasuke saw Naruto and got mad. He sent someone to deal with him, but not to kill him." His eyes eventually came to rest on Naruto. "Or we have the other. Someone knocked Naruto out, and Sasuke got pissed."

He shrugged." Only problem is, the later doesn't fit with our boy Uchiha."

Hinata simply nodded. Either scenario wouldn't have surprised her. Sasuke was unpredictable, and no one ever really knew him, except for maybe the boy before her.

"Wan-Wan!" She turned to see Akamaru licking Naruto's face.

"Good, he's waking up." Kiba grabbed a stick from the ground, walked to Naruto, and poked him gingerly on the side. "Oi, Naruto!"

She couldn't help but smile when she saw those blue eyes. Eyes like no other in Konoha possessed.

He brought his right had to rub his face but quickly pulled away in surprise. Hinata could see the glisten of liquid on it.

"...wha...the hell?"

"Wan-wan!"

Naruto turned just in time to get another lick...

A nice firm one...

Right on the lips.

"Arrrrrggghh!! Get off me Akamaru!" He furiously wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, as he sat up. The dog dashed behind Kiba.

"Hey! He was only trying to help!" Kiba shouted, as he kneeled to console the dog, who only wimpered.

She tried to stiffle the giggle that rushed from her, but she failed miserably, and ended up making herself snort. Hinata quickly covered her mouth, and noticed a grin across Naruto's face.

"If I was going to be kissed, I'd rather she did it!" He exclaimed pointing at her.

She could feel her face heating up.

"What's wrong Hina-hime?"

_He called me that name again._ _Hina-hime._ She may have been the heir to the most prestigious clan in the Leaf, but she only felt like a princess when she was around him.

"N-nothing, Naruto-kun." She cleared her throat. "How are you feeling?"

"Good as ever, why do you ask?" He replied, obviously puzzled at her question.

She and Kiba looked at each other.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Well, to start, people don't usually fall asleep on border patrol, especially when in the Red Zone, Idiot." Kiba answered, quite sarcastically.

"Wan-Wan!"

Kiba turned to Akamaru with an incredulous look on his face. "That's not very nice Akamaru!"

Naruto's eyes shifted to her; the confusion quite apparent on his face.

He shook his head. "So why're you two here?"

"Me and Akamaru could find you faster than anyone else, and Hinata was sent just in case we found you in pieces." Kiba grinned.

"You were supposed to return home three days ago." She softly spoke.

"Three days...?" he whispered, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Hokage-sama was getting worried about you." she added.

Kiba laughed. "Actually, she was almost ready to launch war against the Sound."

"Onee-chan." Naruto groaned as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well?" Kiba asked as he shrugged..

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched up. "What?"

Kiba looked stunned. "You gonna get'chass off the ground? I don't like this place!"

Hinata smiled. She agreed with Kiba though; this place wasn't exactly on her list of favorites. She watched as Naruto stretched muscles that had been lax for the last few days. He slowly made his way up, in an attempt that she thought would have made Shikamaru proud.

He smiled at Hinata. "Now you have nothing to worry about Hina-hime, Uzumaki Naruto is here!"

"Yeah well he's been here for three days, so let's go!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru headed back in the direction they came.

Hinata blushed as she heard Naruto muttering words under his breath. She could definitely pick out the words 'bastard' and 'asshole' among them.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The trip home was uneventful, but very nice; she was, after all, right next to Naruto, and she always felt protected when he was around. More quickly than she wanted, she found herself standing before the Hokage's tower. As they stepped forward, something didn't feel right. She turned to find Kiba still waiting at the bottome of the stairs

"Kiba-kun?"

"Uh..." He was fidgeting like she always did. "You two go on...I, uh...have some things I need to...uh...do. Be sure to fill out the report, Hinata." And with a wave he was off.

Naruto turned towards her with a puzzled look. Hinata knew she had a silly grin on her face, as she had realized what just happened.

"Uhm...What's up with him?" Naruto asked, pointing towards Kiba who was now quite a distance away.

She could feel her face flush. Oh, she knew what was going on...but how could she talk about it?

"Hina-hime?" He grabbed her arm, and she could tell he was trying to make big blue puppy dog eyes, a tactic he knew always worked on her. "Why is Kiba acting that way?"

The inner turmoil in Hinata was nearing a record high. She could give Naruto what he wanted, but there was no way she could actually say what Kiba did...She didn't have to tell him everything though...

"H-He's trying to avoid the Hokage's assistant." she managed.

"Tenten? Why?"

She blushed more intensely as the topic was steering towards exactly what she was trying to avoid.

"She..." her voice was little more than a squeak. "Heard him say something about her."

Naruto's eyes widened and he rubbed his hands together. "Alright! Juicy Stuff! What did he say Hinata?!"

Hinata shook her head. "No way, Naruto-kun. You're not getting anymore from me."

He glared as she stuck her tongue out at him. "I see how it is. Mark my words, Hyuuga Hinata. I will know and there will be hell for you to pay."

"Oh really?" She questioned with hands on her hips and a small defiant grin on her face.

"You'll blush like you've never blushed before." He gave that foxy grin he had whenever he was planning something, right before he took off down the hallway.

Hinata gave a small eep as she followed him. If there was someone you didn't want against you, it was _that_ prankster!

They were quickly approaching the desk outside the Hokage's office, the assistant,or rather receptionist to the leader of the Leaf, slaved at that wooden prison. Tenten looked up from several piles of paper groaning, but when she saw who approached she quickly flashed a smile.

"Hey guys!" She beamed. "Go on, she's expecting you."

Naruto turned towards Hinata. "Go on Hina-hime, I need to find out some things.."

She nodded as she stepped towards the door. _What does he need to find out?_

"Hey, Tenten?" She heard him speak, as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Hey Naruto."

"What did Kiba say to you?"

_He didn't!_ Hinata quickly ran back and slapped him on the arm . "Naruto!!!"

Tenten's eyebrows twitched a few seconds before she rose from behind the desk and grabbed the sides of Naruto's vest. "You've been gone three days, and that's the first thing you say to me!" She growled just inches from his face.

"So...what did he say?"

_What an idiot!_ Hinata slapped her forehead as Tenten let go of him, sank back behind the desk, and gave a small groan. "Well since you must know...he made a reference to my _tight little buns_...and _not_ the ones on my head."

Tenten fumed.

Hinata blushed.

Naruto laughed out loud.

The door to the Hokage's office busted open, and Tsunade came barreling out, straight for the laughing boy, and gripped him in a hug, that Hinata felt would have crushed stone. Her face reddened even more as she watched Tsunade's arms wrap tightly around Naruto's neck, pulling him towards her; his face firmly entrenched between two very large breasts.

"Just where the hell have you been?" the Hokage questioned.

"Mmmph mmph mpppphhhmh."

The girls snickered at his muffled reply.

Naruto pushed himself away from his captor, inhaling deeply as he made his escape. "Well you know me, I got tired on border patrol and decided to take a three day nap..."

Tsunade scoffed and gave him a small push. "Smartass...No, what really happened?"

"I was taking a break, you know, from working on _that_ jutsu."

Hinata didn't miss the emphasis on _that._

Tsunade's eyes went wide. "How did it go?" She excitedly asked.

He grinned at the Hokage and smiled. "Five feet of total destruction."

_He learned it!_ Hinata couldn't believe it. What took years for her, he learned in two weeks. _You're amazing..._

"You never fail to surprise me!" Tsunade voiced the rest of Hinata's thought. "Anyways, tell me the rest of the story."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I think I might have gotten a little too relaxed; someone managed to sneak up on me. Whoever it was had been watching me for a while. Whenever I trade shifts with Lee, he always tells me, 'Tag, you're it_.'_ Whoever knocked me out, whispered that to me."

Godaime nodded. "You were lucky, people don't usually get knocked out in that region. Anyways, everything has worked out, and for that I am extremely glad. Get in my office, since you're so well rested I won't feel bad assigning you a job. I have a mission just for you. I'll be there in a few minutes."

He waved to Hinata. "Later, Hina-hime."

She waved back to him and smiled. "Bye, Naruto-kun."

Tsunade turned to face Hinata, as he entered the office. "Do you need to add anything?"

She nodded. "Kiba smelled Sasuke-kun, and that Kabuto guy in the area where we found Naruto-kun."

Tsunade smiled. "Good job Hinata. Fill out the report for Tenten. You and Kiba rest up, all of Team Eight, including Shino, needs to report here at 0900 hours. I've got a job for you guys. Be sure to rest, you're going to need it."

She watched as the Hokage entered her office and closed the door, wondering what the woman had in store for her favorite ninja.

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**Author's Notes: **

Translations:

1. **Hime**: a suffix used to refer to a princess...or a prostitute. In Naruto's reference to Hinata, it's the former.

2**. Get'chass**: This is short for Get your ass. Kiba's from Southern Konoha.

Alright, this may feel like a filler, but it's not, it's a transition. It was going to be in Naruto's viewpoint, but spur of the moment, I felt like writing things from Hinata's viewpoint. To show that she's opened up a bit. You try being on a team with Naruto for two years, and try to remain closed...

And like the Manga...any time Naruto and Kiba get together, funny stuff happens.

Now onto the thanks.

Wow guys! Thanks for the reviews. I write a chapter about Sasuke and my reviews more than triple! I hope it's from my 'lete story telling skills, and not simply because I wrote about that bastard...because he's not coming back for two chapters, nope. No, seriously, the story actually had noticable movement in his chapter, and it slowed back down in this one, but it picks back up in the next one, and like an avalanche it doesn't stop once it starts, and it all starts with the next chapter.

A couple of people have asked about who carried Naruto. It will be revealed, but it's nothing seriously important, so I wouldn't worry over it.

Also a few of you mentioned I should have more reviews. It's quality over quantity. Now I'm not going to lie and say reviews mean nothing to me, because I do so love to check my inbox and find reviews, but they aren't what drive this story. If I only get one review per chapter, the story will go on, because a good story will get reviews. I'll never go, I'll post this chapter if I get...twenty five reviews, so you don't have to worry about that.

**Shoutouts: None...**

Seriously...what the hell. I found NO good new stories since I checked. Now mind you if you've wrote a new story, it doesn't mean I haven't checked it, it's just the ones that I did check weren't up to my tastes. I'll have to dig deep down the well this time...

Daniel of Lorien, EfrainMan, Henrika, blkah, ..., Gyrbo, Dargon Sheinto, Peter Kim, Erikkoekkoek, amd Trickmaster...Thanks goes to youse guys for reviewing!


	5. The Final Sixty Degrees

The End of All Things Known

(PG-13) : Language

Author Notes or rather Warning: Lots of conversation ahead. Conversation not my forte.  
You have been warned.

Also someone inquired as to what Godaime meant from the last chapter. It means fifth, and it referred to Tsunade, as she is the fifth Hokage. Sorry for not clarifying!

Sandaime Third  
Yondaime Fourth  
Godaime Fifth  
Rokudaime Sixth

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"Border patrol...again." Naruto groaned as he stuffed a pair of shorts into the bag sitting on his bed. "How long has it been? Three months now?" He asked, looking up just in time to see an orange shirt soaring through the air, moving quickly towards his face. 

"Is that the one you wanted?" He heard a voice, exactly like his, ask as he unwrapped the shirt from around his head.

"Yeah, thanks...asshole." The boy replied, whispering the last part, just in case his assailant had something a little more solid than clothing near his hands.

The clone gave him a thumbs-up, and flashed a smile. "Anytime. You need these pants over here?" The double pointed to a pair lazily thrown on the floor against the wall.

"Hah!" Naruto retorted, pointing a finger at the Bunshin. "You need a kunai?"

"Only to kick _your _ass." The clone smugly replied.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Naruto roared as he threw the shirt to the floor and dove towards the clone.

Tenten quickly pulled her hand from the door, jumping back slightly, surprised by the thunderous crash that followed the threat.

_Is he fighting with himself?_

"Oh well." She whispered, shrugging the notion away before gently rapping on the door. The girl took a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever may come.

One could never be too sure of what was going to happen around Uzumaki Naruto.

Tenten was sure of one thing though; She would rather be around a crazy ninja who fought with himself, than around a crazy ninja who pilled paperwork on her desk. Unlike Tsunade, opportunities for laughter could usually be found around Naruto.

"Hold on a minAAAHHH!!!" The unmistakable sound of someone hitting the floor, along with the grunts, curses, and growls that followed, made the girl wary of whatever lay behind the door.

_What the hell is going on in there? _

A few seconds later the cacophony within the walls of Naruto's house ceased; footsteps could be heard coming and eventually stopping before the door, which opened to reveal the smiling face of Konoha's loudest shinobi.

"Hey." Tenten greeted weakly, still slightly unnerved by the events of the last thirty seconds.

She gasped in surprise as the boy exploded before her.

_Kage Bunshin?_ She wondered as the smoke started to spread. _Well, at least he wasn't talking to himself. _She thought for a moment, as she waited for the smoke to clear, and remembered the nature of the jutsu. _Well, technically he was, but... _

As the grey wispy remnants of the clone dissipated, the issue, of whom the boy was talking to, was found to be irrelevant; Tenten found her ability to think hindered by the sight just beyond the open doorway.

Groaning words of revenge against the clone, Naruto pushed himself from the floor with one arm, while using the other to reach for the shorts that were halfway down his legs (and steadily dropping as he straightened himself up). He felt a breeze ruffle his hair, and looked up to see a wide-eyed, red-faced Tenten standing in his front doorway.

The small _"eep" _Tenten shrieked as she turned around, forced his body into motion. He hastily retrieved the shorts, as the blood rushed to his head.

Several moments of uneasy silence lingered between the two before Tenten turned around, her face bearing a slight red hue. "Tsunade-sama wants you to swing by her office." She said, breaking the silence.

A few seconds passed before he replied with a nod. "Give me a few minutes. I still have some things to pack." He turned and entered the adjacent room.

"Don't worry," she responded. "Take _all_ the time you need."

Tenten was relieved the incident had dropped so quickly. She didn't want things to be awkward between the two, as he did provide most of the entertainment to be found in the accursed building where she worked.

Her eyes darted throughout what she could see of his house, with no parents, she had expected it to be in complete disarray, and for the most part she was right. Scrolls and various training supplies were scattered all throughout the rooms, or at least what she could see of them. Judging by the amount of wear each item had, she assumed that he trained as much as Neji or Lee, if not more.

He came out of the room a few moments later, slinging a bag over his shoulder. "So why does Oba-chan want me?"

"Oh yeah." She began, remembering why she had come here in the first place. "You're off duty tonight."

The bag slid down his arm and hit the floor. "What?! Are you serious?" The disbelief apparent in his face.

She nodded. "Yeah, Lee's got your shift covered."

Tenten covered her ears, as he yelled with excitement. She shook her head, and couldn't help but laugh at the boy's exuberant nature.

His initial reaction quickly drained away, however; as his mind started to wonder. "Why?"

The girl shrugged. "You'll have to see the Hokage to find out."

"Well, let's go see the old hag." He stated, before grabbing her arm and pulling in the direction of his front door.

The next thing she knew, they were out of the house and quickly heading down the street. Though the sun shone overhead, Tenten found herself unable to enjoy the pleasant weather. The icy cold hand of social death was encircling her once more, and like a constrictor, constantly tightening it's grip with every step she took towards the building looming in the distance at the end of the road.

A few minutes later, and quite winded, they started up the stairs that led into the tower. Tenten stopped when they had reached the top and opened the door that led inside, staring down the hallway and eyed her desk at the end, silently awaiting her return.

Naruto watched her brow furrow. Sure, he had heard her complain about the job, but it was only then that he began to grasp how much the girl hated her position.

"You should learn Kage Bunshin." He stated in complete sincerity.

She chuckled as she turned towards him. "And end up with my pants around my ankles? No, thank you."

Tenten may have joked about the idea, but the more she thought about it, as she walked down the hallway; she could only come to one conclusion. The boy was definitely onto something.

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Naruto stood before the Hokage's office not knowing what to expect. Tenten had given him no information as to why Tsunade wanted to see him; but whatever it was, it had gotten him a night off, and for that, he was grateful.

He stepped through the door without knocking; his usual entrance, except this time he didn't barge in, which actually surprised the woman behind the desk more than if he would have entered screaming and hollering.

The boy froze after he realized someone else was in the room, sitting in front of the Hokage. "Sorry." He said before slowly backing out.

Tsunade motioned towards a chair. "Have a seat."

He assessed the unexpected third party. A grey hooded shirt covered the torso and head, completely nullifying any chance of recognition for the boy. The body frame wasn't very large; most likely feminine in nature. Black pants, and dark sandals completed the rest of the outfit. He had gained nothing except that the visitor was probably a girl.

"Hey." Naruto greeted, raising a hand in hello, as the hood turned his direction.

Whoever it was, flinched, upon seeing him.

_So they know about the demon. That's just great. _He sighed, almost wishing he was heading for his shift on the border; anything was better than being persecuted, though he was quite used to the reaction by now. Many of the villagers did the same as he walked the streets, some even had the audacity to quickly turn and head another direction, heading anywhere away from him.

The gestures didn't get to him as much as they used to, because, thankfully, not everyone acted that way. He had to kick a lot of ass to earn his Chuunin rank. A title which commanded respect, as it was something that was not given easily. Any academy student could become a Genin. The next rank; however, was on a completely different level. The ninja of the village respected him and he only hoped that in time, the villagers would as well.

He walked confidently to the chair, noticing that whomever it was, that he was standing next to, was not only watching, but blatantly staring, gawking at his every move. Taking a seat, he leaned towards the assumed girl , and using a finger, he motioned for her to come closer, to which she did.

"Stop staring at me." He whispered, before settling back into his seat, and nodding to the woman behind the desk.

"So Ob...," He smiled, catching himself using the name he usually called her. "...Godaime. How can I be of help."

Several seconds passed before Tsunade started, too stunned at Naruto's show of professionalism to respond . "Well, Rokudaime..." She smiled, watching the boy turn a little red.

She usually playfully refered to him as Naruto no Rokudaime, or Rokudaime Hokage, but he had never expected her to do so during a meeting in front of people.

The hooded girl coughed, and shifted in her chair. "Rokudaime?"

Naruto detected surprise, humor, and disbelief in that voice, which indeed was that of a girl.

The current Hokage laughed and nodded. "I have no doubt that this boy will be my successor." Her eyes shifted over to him. "And so much more.

Not for the first time this day, Naruto found himself blushing in the midst of a hushed room.

"Anyways, on to business." Tsunade started. "Naruto, I have a special mission just for you."

"Does it involve her?" He asked, motioning with his head towards the girl next to him.

The Hokage nodded. "Indeed it does."

"I refuse." He proclaimed defiantly, there was no way he was doing _anything_ with a person that judged him before even talking to him.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken. You don't have a choice." Tsunade stated, equally as defiant. "You will escort our guest around the village, showing her the sites, and answering any questions she may have."

He growled, rising from his seat, and slamming one hand on the desk, and pointing at the girl with the other. "She's judging me because of the damned fox and you want me to work with her?!".

Tsunade laughed. "Not quite, you idiot!" Leaning over the desk she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Look, you dumbass."

He turned to look at the girl, who had removed the hood during the argument.

"Hey." She greeted softly, upon seeing his face, and the astonished look that followed.

_Pink hair...green eyes..._ "Sakura-chan?" He asked, almost pleading. The rage, so prevalent moments ago, was nowhere to be found, though a dozen other emotions surfaced.

She gave a smile as she rose from the chair. "You're a bit taller than I remember." She spoke, noticing that his head was several inches above her. Throwing her arms around him, she pulled the boy from Tsunade's grasp.

The events of the day were starting to be too much for the boy. First, he get's pounded by a clone, then Tenten catches him with his pants down, and now Sakura, who's been gone for two years, is hugging him...of her own free will nonetheless.

_This has to be a dream. _

Sakura pulled away from the hug, her hands still resting against his sides. "Are you alright?" She asked, noticing the confused look on his face.

He looked down into the green eyes he remembered from so long ago. "I...think I'm sleeping."

The slap across the back of his head told him otherwise.

"You awake now?" Tsunade questioned, as blue eyes glared at her.

"Yeah, I guess so." He responded sharply.

Naruto turned and focused his attention on his old teammate. Her hair was long again, evident by the fact that it continued past the hood, down into the shirt she wore. She carried herself confidently, this Sakura was certainly different from the one that left. The smile she wore was much more attractive, than the forlorn expression he last saw upon her. She had never looked so beautiful to him, whatever had happened to her these last couple of years, was justified by these last few moments he spent looking at her.

She leaned towards him and motioned with a finger for him to come closer, to which he did. "Stop staring at me." She whispered, watching him blush as she repeated his words back to him.

Tsunade chuckled, liking the spunk the girl had with the boy.

"When did you get here?" He asked, quickly changing the subject, before his face could turn any more red.

"A couple of hours ago."

"Who else knows your back?"

"Only my parents, and now you." She answered.

"She specifically requested that you be summoned immediately." Tsunade said, coming out from behind the desk. "As soon as the doctors cleared her for missions, she said, '_I want to see that boy, and I want to see him now._'" The Hokage shrugged. "I tried to tell her you had to work tonight, but she wouldn't hear any of it. So we were forced to find a substitute. Luckily, Lee agreed to take your shift for you."

By now Naruto was beaming, Sakura had _demanded to see him_.

"Now, if you still want to refuse, I can get Lee to take over the mission, and you can go back to patrolling."

"No! I'll definitely take the mission." He exclaimed.

A knocking interupted the laughter.

Tsunade looked up to the door. "What is it, Tenten?"

The girl entered and waved at Sakura, before focusing on the old woman. "Hokage-sama. There is a disturbance at the gate that requires your attention."

Tsunade's expression grew serious. "Enemies?"

"Worse." The girl answered.

A disgusted look crossed the Hokage's face. "Emissaries. Where from?"

Tenten shrugged. "Don't know."

The woman rubbed her face and sighed. "You kids go have fun. Come back here when you're finished."

All four left the office, though once out the door, Tsunade was gone in a flash.

"Hey Naruto," Tenten called, as the boy started towards the door at the end of the hallway. "Bring me back something nice."

He turned and smiled. "Anything for those tight little buns."

Sakura's mouth dropped at hearing so brazen a statement from her old teammate. Perhaps the stories she heard from her teacher about the Sannin Jiraiya were indeed true.

Tenten looked for something to throw, and grabbed the first thing she came across; A permanent marker. Removing the top, she took aim, and released.

Sakura had never seen the boy's eyes go so wide, as he stood there, seemingly incapable of moving.

The projectile quickly traversed the distance between the conflicting parties, Naruto braced himself for the impact, and was pleasantly surprised when it hit his face lightly and just fell to the floor.

"What a wussy throw!" He exclaimed. "That didn't hurt at all! Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's go!"

He threw his shoulders back, and confidently headed down the corridor.

Sakura turned to look at Tenten, with wide eyes of her own. Unlike Naruto, she wasn't oblivious to the large black dot above his nose, right between the eyes.

The girl headed behind the desk, and went back to her papers, not quite as tense as she was before the boy left.

She was definitely glad things were back to normal.

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As they descended the stairs from the tower, Naruto realized that although he knew the girl beside him, he didn't really _know_ her. She looked the same, but she had a completely different feeling to her, and that intrigued the boy, making him want to find out more.

"Oh my god...Sakura?!" The voice cut through the air like an arrow, piercing Naruto's ears.

Whatever opportunity he had to find out more about his old teammate was lost. The boy groaned, recognizing the voice. Only one person had nagging, grating voice like that.

He and Sakura turned to find the surprised, smiling face of Ino, and the equally surprised, though _not _smiling face of one Nara Shikamaru.

The girls squealed with delight upon seeing each other, the shrill sounds only growing louder, the closer they got to one another.

Shikamaru groaned, watching them embrace one another, his ears ringing as the girls excitedly squealed their hellos. He quickly left the scene and headed towards Naruto, whom he believed would be much more pleasant company than the two banshees. "You know we're going to be here a while." He said, pointing towards Ino and Sakura.

The blonde boy nodded. "Well aside from me, I'm sure she wanted to see Ino the most." He shook his head. "Can't understand why though. All she does is nag."

"Isn't that the truth!" Shikamaru agreed, watching the pink hair kunoichi excitedly talk to her rival. He leaned towards to the blonde next to him. "What's she like now? The last I remember she couldn't do anything other than Academy jutsu..." His eyes drifted to the boy's forehead. "..Naruto...why is their a big black dot between your eyes."

Naruto frantically rubbed at the dot as his thoughts drifted to a certain girl, one currently deserving to be behind a desk, filing papers. _Damn her. _He thought, as he presented what he hoped was a dotless forehead to his friend.

"Nope. Still there."

Naruto licked his finger and wiped the spot, the ink smearing on his face as he did so.

"Use your shirt to wipe it off, anyways, what about Sakura?" Shikamaru inquired again.

The blonde shrugged. "Don't know, really. She's always had a lot of spirit, but noconfidence. She carries herself differently now, so I'm sure she's better, though I haven't had much of a chance to find out."

Shikamaru leaned even closer and whispered even lower. "She's prettier than she used to be."

Naruto couldn't help but nod, as the thought had been with him since he first saw the girl again.

"You know what that means." Shikamaru casually stated, making eye contact with the boy.

"What?"

The wiser Chuunin just shook his head. "She's only going to be more troublesome. The prettier they are, the more demons from the hells they're able to summon. Hinata and Tenten are nice, friendly women, yet Ino and Temari are like demons incarnate."

Naruto wasn't too sure about the boy's observations on Tenten, but he did have to admit, she was much easier to get along with than the prissy blonde women.

Noticing the silence in the background, the boys turned to find the girls standing close, intently listening to their conversation.

"Well Ino," Sakura coughed, quickly straightening up. "Naruto has a mission to escort me around the town, but I'll be sure to swing by tonight for dinner."

Ino threw her arms around Sakura once more, before turning to Naruto.. "Shikamaru, and Chouji will be over, so, yeah, I guess you can come over too." She said playfully winking at him.

"I don't know," He replied rubbing his chin. "The last time I came over, you tried to jump me."

Shikamaru laughed heartily as Ino's eyes grew wide. She reached over and grabbed Naruto by the collar (which by this point was quite stretched), and jerked his face down a few inches. He could feel the heat emanating from her.

"I tripped," She growled, her face red. "And I better not hear any differently! "She released his collar, and turned to Shikamaru. "Come on, let's find Chouji."

Shikamaru held one arm up, waving his goodbyes, as Ino started to drag him, most certainly, to the barbeque restaurant down the street.

"You ready?" Naruto asked, facing a very stunned Sakura.

"I've missed a lot haven't I?" She asked, obviously a little down..

He nodded, giving her a warm smile as he threw an arm around her. "A wise man once told me that it's troublesome to dwell in the past, so don't worry about it."

She grinned, pretty sure she knew who that wise man was, watching him being led to places she knew were "troublesome."

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She wasn't very surprised to see the first stop on 'Uzumaki Tours,' was the new and expanded Ichiraku ramen bar (now with thirty-one flavors!). After the restaurant came the Academy, Iruka's house, and the various shops that lined the streets, many of which Sakura remembered, though quite a few she didn't. The most interesting of which was a building where higher ranking students could study the ninjutsu, and taijutsu of other countries. After two hours, the tour guide's memory was hard pressed to find something they hadn't already visited.

The two walked in an uncomfortable silence. Naruto checked around to see if Ino was around; and when he could see no sign of he, he figured now was as good a time as any to find out about the girl at his side.

"So, what have you been up to for these last two years, Sakura-chan?" He questioned, hoping he wasn't overstepping his bounds as he tried to break the tension between the two.

The smile she gave him, let him know that he hadn't. "I was wondering when we would cut the small talk. I was doing exactly what I expect you did. Training."

He had indeed trained; training against anyone who would take the time with him. Neji, Lee, Kiba, Kakashi-sensai, Gai-sensei, Oba-chan, Ero-Sannin, and many others, including that lazy bastard Shikamaru had all contributed something to him.

"Do you think you can take me?" He questioned confidently.

"Of course!" She exclaimed as she pushed him, a little harder than she meant, and much harder than he had expected. He tripped and fell to the road, laughing, quite surprised, by her strength.

"I guess so!" He agreed, upon regaining his footing. "Was it worth it?"

She looked down at the ground, her feet clicking with every step she took on the cobblestone path. "I was tired of feeling useless." She stated solemnly, before raising her head to look him in the eyes. "I wanted my boys to know that they could rely on me, as I could on them. I am confident that I can do that now, so yeah it was worth it. I lost a little time, but I'll never feel that way again."

The weight of her words stopped Naruto in his tracks. "Your...boys?

"Two of the most important people in my life."

He laughed as he started down the road again. "We never refered to you as our girl, but we did do whatever was necessary to make sure you were safe. We never thought of it as a burden. It was just something we wanted to do."

"We?" She asked, a bit curious, and a bit embarrassed over his words..

"Me and Sasuke." He answered, smiling.

"Have you heard anything from him?" She asked, hoping that _someone_ had heard something, anything.

"Nothing. Not a damn thing, but I know he's alright. Orochimaru won't have him as easily as he thinks. What about you?"

"I know he's alive. I haven't heard anything either, but I know he is." She replied looking up.

"Do you still love him?" He tentatively asked.

She smiled. "Of course, but it's not how you think. Two years gives someone a lot of time to think things through. Anyways, we've spent enough time on that subject. I remember you being a hell of a prankster, have you pulled off any good ones since I've left?"

The smile he gave beamed like brilliant sunshine. "Oh yeah! This one time Kankouro and I..."

"Kankouro?!" Sakura interrupted, more than a little surprised.

He nodded. "A few months after you left, the Hidden Sand could no longer support itself, most of it's clients left after the war. It's ninja were forced to join the ninja of other villages, or to give up that life and become villagers. Temari, Kankouro, and Gaara, were the only ones that came to the Leaf." His voice suddenly took on a serious tone. "They are treated badly by many of the villagers, yet they continue to stay. The people can't seem to disregard the past and fail to notice what those three do. They do a hell of a job protecting this place and the people in it.."

She looked long and hard at the boy, knowing that he completely understood how those three felt. "It must be rough to serve a village that doesn't acknowledge you." She stated somberly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He found himself looking deeply into green eyes. "Yeah it is, so that's why you find reasons to serve it."

"What are they like? Those three." She asked.

He gave a small laugh. "Gaara, is well, Gaara. The villagers won't even approach him, he's not very funny, but man," He shook his head. "He's powerful like you wouldn't believe. Kankouro's funny as hell. Though sometimes he can be an asshole, he's still a good guy...and then there's Temari-chan."

She noticed the small shudder that ran through him and gave a questioning look. "What about her?"

He sighed. "Shikamaru says she's the most troublesome woman in the world, and I think I agree. She's very scary, which I guess, kind of makes her more attractive."

"You got a thing for her?" She asked, more than a little curious.

He shook his head. "Well, she is very pretty and smart, but she's a little too mean and controlling for me. I'd never survive a date with her, she'd kill me before it ended. Temari doesn't put up with _any_ crap."

Sakura chuckled. _To scare Naruto, she must be mean indeed!_

A loud screech, caused the two to look up; a hawk circled only a few feet overhead. The bird quickly descended, frightening Sakura as it dove and nipped at the boy's hair before landing a few feet on the ground in front of them, raising it's head to emit another piercing screech.

"Torikimi!" Naruto exclaimed, bending down to the bird, and reaching out with his hand, only to jerk it back when the bird snapped at it.

"Naruto, that's a hawk! You can't just pet it." Sakura warned.

Naruto reached in the back pocket of his pants, and pulled out a small package, which he started to unwrap. "I know what you want, you bastard."

The bird crooked it's head to the side, and opened it's mouth, screeching silently, as if confirming what the boy said.

"Got it from the bakery this morning." He said, tossing some bread to the ground which the bird quickly devoured.

Sakura stood agape as Naruto scooped the bird into his arms. He held the hawk like a baby in one arm, while rubbing its feathers with the other; the bird cooing the entire time.

"We're wanted at the Hokage's tower." Naruto stated plainly.

The girl knew she must have a stupid look on her face, but she couldn't help it; birds of prey were rarely domesticated animals. "I have never seen anybody hold a hawk."

He laughed. "You can pet her if you want to lose some fingers. She won't even let Oba-chan hold her, and it's her bird!"

"So how..." Sakura started.

"There's no time for that." Naruto interrupted, motioning to the tower with his head.

Tsunade herself was waiting on the stairs, quickly turning and entering the building once her presence had been known.

The walk to her office was silent, neither Naruto nor Sakura, said a word. Torikimi was quiet as well, perfectly content as long as her belly was full and her feathers were being stroked.

Noticing that the boy's hands were full, Tenten opened the door for them, quickly rubbing the bird, as she went back to her seat.

Sakura was about to say something, but Naruto's voice rang out from room before she had the chance.

"Old man Tazuna!" Naruto greeted, quite surprised to see the man. "What's going on, you got another mission for us?"

Tazuna looked at the Hokage who nodded.

"Our village was attacked." Tazuna stated, his voice full of sorrow. The glee Naruto entered with, was quickly drained away. "The attack is over, but much of the village was destroyed. It will take years to rebuild what we have lost."

Naruto eyes widened. "Then we'll help rebuild it!"

Sakura nodded her agreement.

"It's not that simple, Naruto." Tsunade explained.

"Tsunade-sama," the boy snapped. "They need help!"

The woman motioned towards the old man. "Finish Tazuna-san."

"Only one man attacked the village. He killed many of the militia, and razed many buildings to the ground. Nothing was stolen from the village. Nothing except lives, hope, and trust."

Sakura put a hand to her mouth. "That's terrible. Who could do such a thing."

Tazuna looked at Naruto and Sakura, and they could see anguish in his face. "A ninja who bore the mark of Konoha. One with black hair and red eyes, who had helped to save our village not so long ago."

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

_Sasuke.  
_

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**Author's Notes: **This chapter would have to be the absolute words to hours ratio thoughout the entire span of mankind. I know I said there might be some action last time, and all I gave you was a bunch of people running their mouths...

But! I GAYRONTEE there will be action in the next chapter!

**Fic Shoutouts:**

**Years** by Xax : A dark, story about Team Seven returning to Konoha as missing nin. It's good stuff!

**Behind A Mask**by Refused: The best fic about Tenten I've read, and quite a good fic overall. Tenten's an ANBU, serving under Naruto. She also works part-time as a barber. Check it out, it's a good read so you won't be disappointed.

**Flower of Konoha** by Princess-Tsunade: A story that gives the warm fuzzies when you read it. Naruto's sister comes back to Konoha and changes the lives of everyone.

This woman updates like a mofo too! Good Story, Big Huge Chapters, and Rapid Updates...I know someone who's sold their soul. I encourage everyone to go read the story, so you too can see what happens when you cash in yours.

**REVIEWS:**

**_Vampire Kat 22:_** I'm the wrong person to be jealous of in the writing department! Maybe one day you'll read something good, and when you look back on this you'll be like..."Man, that guy really sucks!" I thank you for the compliment though!

**_Henrika: _**I wrote a special section for you at the top. I hope that clarifies things. I'm really surprised you asked about Lee, as I think he's a hilarious character, and many people seem to just shun him. To answer you though. He's uhm...out on missions...as are any other characters you haven't read about yet. Neji? Out. Kakashi? Out. Udon? Yep, he's out too.

**_EfrainMan_**: I'm glad people are checking up on me and my language use. I've only ever heard of one definition of entropy: which is the gravitation of all things to nothingness. I first learned it in my Thermodynamics class, and that seems to be the most commonly accepted definition I've found, but the english language is a weird thing. When I hear the word Great, I automatically think awesome, or really good. But according to oxford that's #10 on the list!

Keep checking on me though, if I do something wrong, I definitely want to be in the know.

Kiba. heh. the boy makes me laugh, and you know, YOU KNOW! He's going to be just like Jiraiya when he's older.

**_Dalavita: _**I appreciate the input! If you have any other advice, just let me know. And don't you worry about Orochimaru...

**_Jenniyah: _**You'll find out how Kabuto's plan works in the next chapter, which I've already started on, and it has lots of action, so I won't be pulling my hair out as I write it.

**_Karibanu_**: I hate those stereotypes too, and yes I can keep the relationships slow, and very developed. People may think after reading this chapter that Naruto and Sakura are going to hook up, which if it happens, won't be anytime soon. I remember being fourteen, and thinking that some of my friends that were girls were beautiful, but I didn't want to date them. Plus this is an awkward age for romance and crap anyways. In my opinion, a fourteen year old can't truly grasp the emotion of romantic love, and that will be reflected in my story.

**_ErikKoekkoek: _**I'm a huge fan of flattery, so here's the next chapter (it was going up this night anyway, but I can act like it was you who pressed me into it). Oh, you beat me again, this very night. You eeked that third chapter by before I posted this one. I'll remember that.

**_Trickmaster, Daniel of Lorien, Gopu, Dargon Sheinto, Anonymous : _**Thanks for reviewing. I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story, it's been kind of slow to this point and you've stayed with me, some of you reviewing more than once. Repeat reviewers are more important to me than new ones. Sorry I kept you waiting for so long.

Next Chapter: Getting Wicky Wicky Wah In the House of the Snake (Title Subject to Change)

**_AND FINALLY..._**

Thanks goes out to those who have me on their Author Alerts. I hope you're enjoying the story.

Alright! smashes amp with guitar GOODNIGHT SAN DIMAS HIGH!


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